Rocker for chairs.



G. M. STRATTON.

ROCKER FOR CHAIRS.

APPLIUATION FILED MAY 2 a, 1908.

Patented July 13,1909.

- IN V E N TOR eorg'e J1. ,JZz-a tion/ W/T/VESSES A TTOHNE Y S CitGEORGE MILO STRATTON, OF OARTI-IAGE, SOUTH DAKOTA.

ROCKER FOR CHAIRS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 28, 1908.

Patented July 13, 1909.

Serial No. 435,397.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it kn own that I, GEORGE M. S'rRA'rTON, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of Carthage, in the county of Miner and State ofSouth Dakota, have invented a new and Improved Rocker for Chairs, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, and exact description. V

The purpose of this invention is to provide hollow rockers of sheetmetal for cl'iairs, which are light, strong, shapely, and can beproduced at a low cost. The invention consists in the novel con.-struction of chair rockers and their combination with the legs of achair, as is hereafter described and defined in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the views.

Figure l is a perspective view of a chair, and of the novel rockerssecured upon the legs of the chair; Fig. 2 is an enlarged partlysectional side view of the improved rocker and of lower portions of twochair legs whereon the rocker is secured; Fig. 3 is an enlargedlongitudinal sectional view of a chair leg, and a transverse sectional.View of the improved rocker thereon, substantially on the line 3-3 inFig. 2 Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view of the rocker substantiallyon the line 4-4 in Fig. 2, and Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view ofthe same, substantially on the line 5-5 in Fig. 2.

The im roved chair rocker is cut from and formed 0 sheet metal,preferably of sheet iron that will stand bending into form withoutfracture. Preferably the rocker is formed of a single piece of thematerial specifled, and as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, a planchet thereofhaving a suitable len th and width, is provided that is bent into formas follows: At equal distances from the side edges of the planchet thematerial is bent, producing similar corners a, that extend throughoutthe length of said planchet parallel with each other. The material 10,that is between the angular corners a forms the tread or working face ofthe rocker, and in a completed rocker said face is given propercurvature, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The remaining portions 11 of theplanchet, forming the side walls of the rocker, are similarly bent so asto give them ogee form in crosssection, as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5,which converges the upper edges thereof, and as shown in Fig. 4, saidupper marginal portions 0 are mainly bent toward each other, so that theedges thereof impinge and close the top surface of the rocker body, andthe ends of said body may be closed by bending end walls d on the sidewalls-11, as shown in Figs. 1, 3, 4 and 5. It is to be understood that asimilar pair of rockers of the described construction are provided forthe legs of a chair, to be disposed at opposite sides of the chair asusual, and a feature of the invention consists of novel means forsecuring the duplicate rockers upon the lower portions of the chair legsas illustrated in Fig. 1.

The chair A may be of any preferred construction, and its legs A beformed as shown in Fig. 1, or have a diflerent shape, it only beingnecessary that their lower ends have proper dimensions for reception ofthe rockers that have been described, and as the attaching means for thepair of rockers is the same for each one, a description for securing onerocker will Sllll'llOG for both of them. At suitable points on the upperside of each of the rockers that are curved to correspond with the lowersurfaces thereof, two pairs of flanges c, f, are respectively formed forthe engagement with the lower ends of the legs A, at the sides of achair A.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 5, the flanges e that are oppositely disposed ata proper distance from the rear ends of the rockers for connection withthe rear legs A of the chair A, are both upwardly extended from theinwardly bent portions 0 that form the top wall of the rockers and arefastened together by two spaced rivets e, that are secured in alinedperforations in said flanges. The flanges f are disposed in pairsoppositely and near the front ends of the rockers, and preferably aresimilar in form to the flanges 6, said flanges f being secured togetherby two spaced rivets f. The lower ends of the legs A at each side of thechair A which are to be connected with the rockers that have beenpreviously described, are slotted upwardly, as shown at g in Fig. 1.Between the pair of spaced rivets that connect each pair of flanges eand f together, upwardly extended tongues e and f are respectivelyformed on said flanges, and as shown for one pair of tongues and a chairleg in Fig. 3, the pair of lapped tongues c therein shown, are closelyfitted into the longitudinal slot 9 in theleg, and are therein securedby a cross-pin c that is driven through alined perforations in the legand tongues. In a like manner tongues are formed on the flanges fbetween the spaced rivets f which project upward from said flanges andare secured in the longitudinal slot g in the front leg A by means of atransverse pin f It will be noted in Fig. 3 that the lower end of theslot 9 in the leg A is widened somewhat, to accommodate the slope givento the flanges e where they converge to permit the formation of thetongues c thereon, this being the case with the tongues on bothrockersand all the legs engaged therewith, and it should be explained that thiswedgelike formation of the tongues and flanges renders the connection ofthe rockers substantial and prevents rattling sidewise, as the tendencyof weight sustained by the rockers will be to spread apart the pairedflanges e and f slightly, and adapt them to take up any wear that mightoccur between said parts and the sides of the slots in the legs. Theexterior surl'ace of the rockers may be rendered ornamental by coatingwith brass or nickel plating, or may be enameled to conform in colorwith that ol' the woodwork of the chair.

In the process of manufacturing the improved rockers, it may be foundadvantageous to divide each rocker longitudinally into two halfsections, simply by slotting the tread or lower wall a throughout itslength at the transverse center thereof, and securing the two hallsections together by any prel'erred means; hence I do not desire to belimited to the exact details of manufacture hereinbelore set forth,claiming the right to vary therefrom within the scope of the subjoinedclaims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

1. The combination with the chair, of rockers formed of sheet materialbent to form a longitudinally arched bottom wall, and converging sides,said sides being provided at corresponding points with flanges, the legsbeing slotted to receive the flanges, the edges of the slot beingarranged for en gaging the converging sides of the rocker.

2. The combination with a chair having four depending legs thereon, saidlegs having longitudinal slots therein, 01' two similar hollow chairrockers each formed of sheet metal, having an inverted arched treadsurface, ogee shaped side walls, paired flanges on the meeting upperedges of said side walls, means for securing the flanges together inpairs, tongues formed on the flanges at their cen ters, said tongues inpairs occupying the slots in respective legs, and means for securing thetongues in said slots.

3. The combination with a chair having slotted legs, of chair rockersformed of sheet material having an arched tread surface, ogee shapedside walls, paired flanges on the meeting upper edges of the side walls,tongues on the flanges at their centers, said tongues engaging the slotsin the respective legs, and means for securing the tongues in the slots.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE MILO STRATTON.

itnesses JOHN PUsEY, F. A. NYE.

